Path of Exile 2 Act 1 Campaign Guide

This guide breaks down the Campaign section by section, ensuring no bonuses or extra items get left behind.

Act I Recommendations

Before we get into items and quest rewards available, below is what to expect out of our character progression on a first character in a league. These are a combination of key gear modifiers, as well as a goal to try and hit before the completion of the act that fall in line with our Campaign Tips and the suggestions made there.

Key Modifiers

For our Weapons, depending on our build, we’ll be looking to maximize Physical Damage or Spell Damage. We’ll at most only see the second tier of these modifiers, but don’t forget that better item bases will also drop as we progress too, increasing the impact of these small upgrades.

In addition to this, if we get lucky enough to find them, getting Added Lightning or Lightning as Extra modifiers is great for the early Shock potential, which is one of the earlier damage multipliers we can get for any build. The most common source of this bonus in the early game is via Storm Runes, socketed in our weapon.

For most builds, increasing our hit pool will also be beneficial to do as much as we can. This means picking up Life, Strength, and Energy Shield modifiers when available. Life in particular will also increase our Ailment and Stun Threshold, making it harder to get frozen or stunned.

In addition to this, for Act I in particular, many enemies will deal Cold Damage, making Cold Resistance very useful. Near the end of Act 1, the second tier for Resistance modifiers also becomes available, making them every so slightly easier to stack up on gear. If we can get around 30-40% Cold Resistance going into the Act boss, it should be a very easy and comfortable fight.

Finally, for every build, the most important thing we can pick up is Movement Speed on Boots. We’ll be able to get 10% Movement Speed very early on, and this can roll up to 15% near the end of the act.

Gear and Skill Progression

By the end of Act I, we should have at least our main skill at level 5, as Level 5 Skill gems will start dropping in Area Level 14 zones, or the few leading up to the boss. This main skill should also have 2 support gems linked to it for maximum DPS.

There’s not a whole lot of exciting upgrades we can get for gear before the boss, with the main notable drop becoming available being Sapphire Rings. Similar to Level 5 Skill Gems, they’ll only start to drop in the last sections of Act I, but provide a valuable resistance boost.

For extra Cold Resistance for the upcoming boss, it’s also worth making sure we grab the Sapphire Charm from the NPC in town after clearing Freythorn. While it’s not a consistent bonus, it can save us in a pinch if we make a mistake while fighting the boss.

Halfway through the act, we’ll also get access to Attribute Amulets. This gives us another option for obtaining the necessary statistics to utilize our gear and skills. If we don’t need any extra Attributes outside our Passive Tree, Amber Amulets are also great for the bonus life they provide through Strength.

Finally, the last bit of progression we’ll want for an easier time with the Act Boss is having a Greater Life Flask. Compared to the Medium we’re likely to pick from Areagne earlier in the act, we’re looking at nearly doubling our recovery per flask.

Make sure not to miss any optional quests or rewards that grant passive stats. In the case of Act I, this means defeating Beira, Crowbell, King of the Mists, and Candlemass while also grabbing Una’s Lute and Renly’s Tools. Refer to the Table below for their locations.

Act I Campaign Rewards

Below are all the one-time rewards that can be earned by any character their first time through this act. In the case of additional characters past the first, feel free to skip any unnecessary rewards like Support Gems.